Music Plays a Role in All Societies

Music plays a role in all societies, and it exists in a large number of styles. Dictionaries usually define music as an art that is concerned with combining sounds (Music). Music is frequently accompanied instrumental sounds; a poem put to a melody. Both Poetry and music, produces an work of art that has beauty or attractiveness that expresses something that follows some kind of internal logic and exhibits intelligible structure, and that requires special skill on the part of its creator. Music can be considered Lyric Poetry; it covers everything from hymns, lullabies, drinking songs, and folk songs to a great variety of love songs and poems. Unlike Music, Poetry is an imaginative literary expression that makes its effect by sound and imagery of the language (Guralnik). But this article is mainly concerned with the effect poetry has on the art of music.

Like Poetry, Music can exploit characteristics such as meter, rhythmic patterns, and hidden meanings, symbolism. Don McLean, a musician of the 60's, is famous for his release of the song American Pie. With a wide interpretation of the song and its artistic rhythmic pattern, the song carries the characteristics of a poem. McLean is not so much worried about the meter as of the message he presents.

A long, long, time ago I can remember / how the music used to make me smile

And if I knew I had the chance / To make those people dance

And maybe they'd be happy for a while / But February made me shiver

With every paper I delivered, / Bad news on the doorstep,

I couldn't take one more step / I can't remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride / But something touched me deep inside,

Did you write the book of love / And do you have faith in God above

If the Bible tells you so / Do you believe in rock 'n roll

Can music save your mortal soul / And teach me how to dance real slow

Well, I know that you're in love with him / 'Cause I saw you dancin...